William Kent Krueger is a New York Times bestselling author who writes mystery thrillers and historical fiction and his 2023 release, The River We Remember, is one of his mysteries. It takes us to the small town of Jewel, and explores the prejudices and complexities of post-World War II America.
Krueger resides in his adopted hometown of St. Paul, and Minnesota is the setting for most of his novels. Readers may recognize Krueger from his 20-book series featuring the protagonist, Sheriff Cork O’Conner, or his wildly successful 2013 coming of age novel, Ordinary Grace.
In The River We Remember, a dead body is found floating in the Alabaster River on Memorial Day 1958. The deceased, Jimmy Quinn, is the wealthiest landowner in town, and not many citizens are mourning the loss. In fact, most have secrets they want to keep in regards to their relationship with Mr. Quinn. Almost immediately, the townspeople accuse Noah Bluestone, a Dakota and WWII veteran, and his Japanese wife, Kyoko, of Quinn’s murder. Sheriff Brody Dern has the difficult task of unraveling the rumors, secrets and lies.
Krueger’s characters are not one dimensional nor are they wholly good or wholly bad. The story is told through the viewpoints of Sheriff Dern and Bluestone as well as a retired lawyer, Dern’s sister-in-law, and the local newspaper publisher. I turned the pages to learn the who and why, but throughout the journey, I wondered mostly about the larger themes of humanity and what makes a community.
“Our lives and the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from our beginning to our end. Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past. In all of them there is truth, and in all of them a good deal of innocent misremembering.”
The River We Remember contains scenes that depict sexual assault and child abuse.
Look for this recommendation and other books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent bookstore each week.
Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to make you one, too. For more recommendations or just to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.
